One of the most widespread devices for use in quickly locating telephone numbers and addresses is the common telephone index which in its most typical form is arranged to be placed on a desk, a table or the like for ready access by the user. Such telephone indexes are provided with a plurality of index cards arranged in a stack within a housing, each of the cards being provided with a suitable alphabetical tab for locating the card on which is listed the number and address of a party to be contacted, which identity corresponds to the appropriate tab. Such present day telephone indexes are provided with a slide selector by means of which a particular index card is selected and suitable release means are provided on the housing by means of which a spring loaded cover plate is lifted, together with the index cards overlying the selected card, to display the selected card and its information contained thereon.
The positioning of such present day telephone indexes on a desk or the like poses certain disadvantages such as adding to the clutter common to the typical office desk and frequently becomes buried under the usual array of material which accumulates on a desk, thereby making it difficult to locate the index, particularly when time is of the essence. Furthermore, such present day indexes are not secured to the desk top in a permanent location so that it is not uncommon for damage to the index to occur when it is inadvertently pushed off the desk top. In addition, the use of such a desk top telephone index limits further the availability of space on a desk wherein space is already at a premium.
Another undesirable feature of such telephone indexes is their rather complicated construction due in part to the need for constructing the index of relatively heavy material for stability, but primarily because such telephone indexes require components such as springs, release mechanisms and the like for operation of the index such as releasing and lifting the door automatically when an index card selection is to be made. All of these features add considerably to the manufacturing cost and therefore the retail cost of such indexes.